End wedge channel

Last night I cut the end wedge channel, sometimes called the butt wedge. My wife thinks that's a funny name to call it, having both the word "butt" and "wedge" next to each other. No matter. The dimensions I used were fairly arbitrary, only thing I could determine from looking at other guitars is that it is usually wider on the top side... if it's tapered at all.

The angle is about 2.5 º. It is fairly narrow right now, I could always widen it up if I don't like how it turns out.

The vice-versa came in real handy in trying to mount the guitar to cut this channel. I cut the edges with a small tenon saw, then used my 6mm chisel to remove the side material. Still have to clean up the channel and cut the piece of maple that goes in there... but that shouldn't take too long.
Also been working on the peghead design. Even though I have a lot of work left to do on the body, I've been itching to get started on the neck. The peghead is the first step. It seems to me that of all the distinguishing features on a guitar, the peghead is most telling of WHO or what company made it. You can look at most any peghead and tell either by the shape or the emblem who made it. So I have been agonizing over this decision for some time... not exactly sure what shape I wanted.

But recently, I have made some headway. I finally think I am reasonably happy with this shape. It is based on the Taylor curves, with the top modified to be more curvy instead of having the two points in the center.

More purfling cutter, no router

After I scored the line for the purfling, I was thinking about how easy and fast that was. Wouldn't it be just as easy to score the horizontal depth line of the channel as it was the vertical width? And then, the wood in the channel would just pop out without needing to route anything... no worries about the router tipping. So I gave it a shot, and it did INDEED work very well.
So I went ahead and did it; took me about an hour whereas the router would have taken about 5-10 minutes. But the peace of mind that it gave me knowing that the router wouldn't take a chunk out of my top was well worth the time. It actually was a very rewarding experience, that purfling tool is a piece of cake to use.

Next step: Cutting the end wedge channel.

Top binding channel routed... purfling scored.

Learning from my mistakes on the back, I was careful not to tip the router inward when I routed the top binding channel. For the most part, it went well... but it wasn't perfect. No matter, the purflings will cover up any flaws from that cut. I can see the advantage of using The Universal Binding Machine. It keeps the router vertical, no worries. I may build one of these before I build my next guitar. That being said, the most critical cut is next: routing the purfling channel.
But before I do that, I scored it using The IBEX Purfling Groove Cutter:

This helps prevent tear-out on the soft spruce top. Technically I could remove this material with a chisel, but the router is easier and more accurate especially in controlling the vertical depth. The purflings are 0.130" wide x 0.080" tall, so I switched the bearing on my router bit from the 0.840" bearing to a 0.580" bearing. Given the 1" cutter, this new bearing will now cut a 0.210" horizontal channel with respect to the side - 0.080" for the bindings, and 0.130" for the purfling. Hopefully I'll have a chance to do this tomorrow.

Back routed... and an Ooops.

When I got home from vacation, a package from LMI was waiting for me. Of primary interest was the router bit and 2 rabbit bearins to do the binding and purfling channels. My setup uses a rabbiting bit AND the router side attachment... see here. My understanding is that the rabbit gives the proper depth of cut, and the side attachment keeps the router from tipping outward. Some people just use one or the other, but more control is better. That being said, nothing (except the operator) keeps the router from tipping inward (see below). The only way to prevent it from tipping inward would be to use a wider base... but then the angle would be off at different points in the curvature of the top/back. There are better ways to do it (LMI, Taylor-Factory-Fridays-Binding-part-1), but they are much more complicated to setup.

You might be able to see it from that picture... if not, try the next one. Turns out the router "lurched" (due to operator error) and left a 0.020" slice about 1/2" long. I was a bit upset at first, but I figured out how to fix it rather quickly. I took two thin granadillo shavings (from when I profiled the sides) and super glued them over the area. Once the glue dried, I chiseled and sanded the excess away. The area is now smooth, but with a slight discoloration.

I doubt this will be noticeable after the sanding, pore filling and finishing.
Next, I'll route the same channel on the top (being a shade more careful this time), then route the purfling channel last (being MUCH more careful on that pass).

Back glued on.

Last night I glued on the back. After I took the clamps off, I flush trimmed the excess and put the neck on just for fun.

My wife caught me playing a little air guitar...

I'll be on vacation next week (in-laws). But I'm taking my bridge blank with me to play with (my father-in law is a wanna-be luthier with lots of tools:) Just kidding Ron!
After that I'll get started on routing the binding channels.

Back glue-up test run

The back and sides are ready to be glued together. But first I had to get my clamping scheme ready and coordinated. Not too hard, just lots of clamps.
First, I signed the top...
...then I did a dry run without any glue to make sure I knew where to put each clamp and ensure there are no problems.
I should be able to glue the back on tonight!

Sound Hole ?!?

Back when I started this I never imagined that I'd put a sound hole in my first guitar. But now it seems possible... even easy now that I understand how and why to do it.
So the plan is to do one later on after the bindings are on. But I need to add reinforcement material in that area BEFORE I glue the back one... which will be soon.
So I glued on three separate pieces of laminate, each about 0.025" thick. The first and third ran with the grain of the sides... the middle one ran perpendicular. The first two were oak (rather grainy), the final one was maple to give a clean look.
The soundhole will be an oval 1" tall by 1-1/2" wide, located at about 45 º... but slightly toward the neck. Actually one edge of the oval will be at about 45º, the other will be 1-1/2" toward the neck.